BrazilFoundation Announces Winners of the III Community Innovation Award

The 3 best community initiatives will receive additional support

We’ve arrived at the end of the III Community Innovation Award! This year, 21 mentor organizations in 16 Brazilian states previously supported by BrazilFoundation identified and mapped 190 informal initiatives in their territories, of which 53 were selected to receive small grants to strengthen their communities. The mentor organizations shared their expertise with these initiatives, monitored their use of resources and evaluated their project outcomes.

We accompanied the 53 initiatives, which surprised us with excellent results, for 3 months. It was a difficult task for the BrazilFoundation Programmatic team when it came time to selecting the initiatives to receive renewed support. The team made their selections based on the reports and results the initiatives presented, on the evaluations from the mentor organizations, and on the quality of each initiative’s photos and videos.

According to the Call for Proposals, the three winning initiatives will receive R$ 8,000 in renewed support, inclusion in BrazilFoundation’s Leadership Network and an invitation to participate in the 2019 Leadership Gathering. The winning initiative will have the opportunity to attend the V BrazilFoundation Gala São Paulo with its mentor organization on November 28th.

The Community Innovation Award was launched in 2015 to meet the urgent demands of Brazil’s nonprofit sector. Its model of shared and collaborative philanthropy aims to support initiatives that exist outside the radar of traditional investment due to them not being formalized; democratize resource allocation; test the idea that grantee organizations can be funders; foster local leadership and create an ecosystem that favors the creation of new social technologies.

Here are the winning initiatives:

1º: Imagina C – São Paulo, SP

Giving kids the opportunity to build healthier cities through fun, playful experiences with the city. Leader: Nayana Brettas. Mentor: Gerando Falcões. Awards: trip to the Gala SP with mentor, renewal of support for another year, integration into BrazilFoundation network, participation in 2019 annual leadership workshops.“I dream of seeing the alleys and squares re-imagined and transformed by children so that they can become places of play for both themselves and adults.”

3º: Marginal, coletivo – Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Youth from favelas coming together in public spaces in Rio to raise questions about rights, identity, culture, and politics. Leaders: Ellen Marques, Jota Marques. Mentor: Instituto Pólen. Awards: renewal of support for another year, integration into BrazilFoundation network, participation in 2019 annual leadership workshops.“May the right to have access to the city also become a policy of progress within marginalized and impoverished communities. And may it provide conditions to develop citizenship, education and culture for community building, and include the favela as a source of potential and as a positive example in the city.”